Calgon Articles

Wastewater treatment facilities can be designed for physical and biological removal of numerous contaminants. Each plant is unique, yet nearly all wastewater plants must provide disinfection before discharging or reusing the effluent.

As technology improves, contaminants can be measured in ever-smaller quantities. Pollutants formerly undetected are now becoming emerging contaminants of concern. Water utility managers must stay abreast of potential new regulations and plan for ways to address these contaminants.

Most industries are required to remove contaminants from wastewater systems before discharge to a receiving stream or municipal facility. Depending on the industry, contaminants may be numerous or difficult to treat. Finding the most effective, cost-efficient treatment method is critical for both business and the environment.

As our ability to measure contaminants at ever smaller concentrations improves, “emerging contaminants” are on the rise. Per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), emerging contaminants are chemicals or materials characterized by a perceived, potential, or real threat to human health or the environment.

When the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority (CCMWA) anticipated the need to upgrade the Hugh A. Wyckoff water treatment plant, they turned to granular activated carbon (GAC) technology after vetting several alternatives. The plant, a wholesaler in a two-plant system, processes up to 72 million gallons per day and serves about 350,000 people. Comprising of Wyckoff and the James E. Quarles treatment plant, CCMWA is the second largest water provider in Georgia.

Over the past two years, no groundwater issue has perhaps received as much community focus and attention as polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances like PFOA and PFOS, often referred to as perflourinated compounds (PFCs). The U.S. EPA issued a health advisory, limiting the amount of these compounds to 70 parts/trillion which kicked off a nationwide evaluation of local water sources.

No water contamination issue is grabbing more headlines these days than that of perfluorinated chemicals, commonly referred to as PFCs or PFAS. Concerns over the chemicals have sprung up all over the country, prompted by contamination from industrial wastewater and military firefighting foam. Regardless of where the issue has come up or what caused it, everyone who has been affected wants the same thing: an effective treatment solution. To discuss such a solution, Water Online spoke with Calgon Carbon Corporation.

Behind the terrifying headlines of contaminated water exists an effective, affordable solution. No one wants to be without drinking water, yet many communities around the country are being told their water is unsafe. Watch this video to learn more.

Algae is always present in surface water. However, under the right conditions Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) can develop. Some HABs, such as cyanobacteria can release toxins such as microcystin that can enter public drinking water systems as well as kill other natural marine life.